Greetings, Champions! It has come: the Ideal Hero Poll for 2016! Let there be much rejoicing!
I’m sure some of you are wondering what the heck I’m talking about. Here’s the situation: I try to write a variety of male protags because every reader is going to have a different preference. No matter what hero/prince I create, some of you will love him and some of you won’t be terribly impressed, it’s a sad reality. However! Your preferences are still important to me, so I use the hero poll as a sort of thermometer to see what hero archetypes are the most popular.
I created the Ideal Hero poll–using my characters as a reference because I know you’ve met these guys, or you wouldn’t be here–that gives you the opportunity to vote for your favorite characters/archetypes. I don’t have a limit on your number of selections, but I ask that you choose no more than three. Why only three? The more you vote the more skewed the results will be. I take your response seriously, so please follow the rules and only cast your three votes one time! The poll will close 1/24/2016, and I’ll announce the winning types on 1/25.
Take note, though, because this year I’m adding a second poll: Most-Wanted Hero. In this poll you can vote for your favorite male archetype that I have not yet written as a main character! It follows the same rules as the Ideal Hero poll–three selections and you can vote only once. I checked in with my Facebook and Blog Champions for ideas, but if you have a favorite archetype that didn’t make the cut, please shout it out in the comment section! These polls are supposed to provide discussion and feedback for me, so don’t be shy. Okay, hold onto your hats because here we go!
Annnddd for the new poll! I tried to find examples, but for some of them I couldn’t swing it. Sorry!
Thank you for participating in the 2016 Ideal Hero Poll AND the 2016 Most-Wanted Hero Poll. I can’t wait to see who wins. Good luck, and choose carefully!
First off, I am completely in love with your books. Both male and female characters have that authenticity that makes it so much more enjoyable. I am most partial to the fairytale rewrites, and wanted to thank you for the hours of enjoyment you have given me with these stories.
In the polls above I failed to see an option for a character type like Falk, his condescending nicknames (which he thought to be endearing), absolute loyalty to Elise as her guardian swan, and how he could remember her through that transformation melted my heart, he was the choice I picked at the end, no hesitations, the heroes be damned. He was a seemingly cold character, but through your writing I knew just how tender his feelings for her were.
However, your novels have given me far too many book boyfriends, so keep at it, you are a magnificent artist. ?
Thank you for all the lovely compliments! Yes, I did forget to include Falk this year–I was trying to bring in a few new categories, and I forgot about some of the old ones! I’m still trying to refine the categories, it seems I’ll have to make some changes for next year.
Also, I have to agree with you. Falk has a bit of a grouchy exterior, but he is all marshmallow on the inside! I begrudgingly liked him when I started writing the book, but by the end I adored him!
Thanks for the message, I hope your list of book boyfriends will keep growing! 😉
Thanks for the chance to give some input, but I have to say I voted more for my favorite characters than a favorite type. I just finished the last of your published books- I voraciously worked my way through all of them in the last few weeks after discovering “Heart of Ice”. I enjoyed them all, particularly the extra stories, and eagerly await your next release. Thank you for many enjoyable hours!
Yes, I’m starting to realize “type” might not necessarily be the best voting factor. Even if characters share the same traits (example: charming or funny) they still are very different. I’ll have to see if I can come up with something better next year. Anyway, I’m glad you’ve liked my stories and the extras! 🙂 Thank you for reading!
Ugh, I couldn’t choose my favorite hero types, because most of the heroes I liked best were paired with Heroes, that in my opinion, just couldn’t compete.
However I loved Stil, Devin and Asher closely followed by Severin, Captain Arion, Merlin and Aysel. ….Drat, I just realized that I am not as picky as one would want!
Farrin is still a dark horse.
😉 I think it’s a good thing you like so many of them! Perhaps next year I shouldn’t label them and just let people vote for their specific favorite?
I’ll be very interested to hear what you think of Farrin after Snow Queen 2 comes out. He was a new kind of hero for me to tackle.
I think he’d be in the brother/nice guy group, but I just loved Freddy in Georgette Heyer’s Cotillion. Maybe because I love the gentle, but rather non stop humor of that book.
Cotillion was one of the few Georgette Heyer books I haven’t read, so I just snagged a copy for myself. I can’t wait to meet this Freddy of yours! 😉
This was too much fun… Thanks for allowing input! I smiled as I voted. There’s no telling “who will be born” from the results of these votes in your awesome writer mind. I’m giddy with excitement of your books this year and hereafter!
P. S. Is there any future hope to start a “street team” for you and your books? I need to go through and review your books on goodreads and Amazon, I know… And I was wondering if there’s anything else a fan can do to help promote your books this year?!
I’m looking forward to the results too–it feels a lot like a horse race as the heroes that win aren’t necessarily the ones that lead the pack for the first few days!
As for a street team, I am hoping to start something along those lines early this year! I love it when readers get involved–and it does make a huge difference! When I do launch it I’ll be announcing it everywhere, so you’ll be able to sign up then. 🙂
Ugh, the polls were squashed for a few minutes there, so I apologize for the ugliness. They should be fixed now!